Tulsa City-County Library - Breaking Badhttp://tulsalibrary.org/tags/breaking-bad
enRead Like a (Mad) Man by Laura Raphaelhttp://tulsalibrary.org/blog/read-mad-man-laura-raphael
<div class="field field-name-field-news-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="http://tulsalibrary.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/blogfiles/Laura%20Raphael%20Headshot_5.JPG?itok=eOyqcE9Z" width="176" height="220" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"> <p>It has become commonplace recently to compare certain television dramas to great literature – and with such brooding, character-driven and thematically rich shows as <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=keyword&amp;q=breaking+bad" title=" Breaking Bad"><em>Breaking Bad</em></a>, <em>The Americans</em>, and <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=mad+men&amp;commit=Search&amp;searchOpt=catalogue" title=" Mad Men"><em>Mad Men</em></a>, I get it.</p>
<p>So suffice to say I watch many of these shows and feel literary doing so, even if watching sometimes keeps me away from reading actual books.</p>
<p>One reason I am particularly fond of <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=mad+men&amp;commit=Search&amp;searchOpt=catalogue" title=" Mad Men"><em>Mad Men</em></a>, the 1960s advertising-world show created by Matthew Weiner (who was also the creative force behind <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=sopranos&amp;commit=Search&amp;searchOpt=catalogue&amp;formats=DVD" title=" The Sopranos"><em>The Sopranos</em></a>, another widely critically-acclaimed show-like-literature), is that books and reading are a consistent motif, acting to illuminate character, plot, and theme.</p>
<p>A recent book featured in the season premiere of the sixth season of <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=mad+men&amp;commit=Search&amp;searchOpt=catalogue" title=" Mad Men"><em>Mad Men </em></a>(spoiler alert!) was <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?q=%22Dante+Alighieri%22&amp;search_category=author&amp;t=author" title=" The Inferno"><em>The Inferno</em></a>, one of the books of Dante’s <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?q=%22Dante+Alighieri%22&amp;search_category=author&amp;t=author" title=" Divine Comedy"><em>The Divine Comedy</em></a>. The dashing ad man Don Draper, given to extramarital affairs in his first marriage, is reading it on a Hawaiian beach next to his beautiful young second wife, and as the show opens, we hear his voiceover: “Midway through our life’s journey I went astray from the straight road and awoke to find myself alone in a dark wood.” …which is about as cogent a description of where he is, both psychologically and psychically.</p>
<p>At the end of the premiere, we discover that Don is back to his cheating ways, carrying on an affair with a neighbor’s wife – and we know this, in part, because she lent him <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?q=%22Dante+Alighieri%22&amp;search_category=author&amp;t=author" title=" The Inferno"><em>The Inferno</em></a>.</p>
<p>Related – in more recent times – is that there is a new translation of <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?q=%22Dante+Alighieri%22&amp;search_category=author&amp;t=author" title=" The Divine Comedy"><em>The Divine Comedy</em></a> by Clive James that is getting attention and love, especially from NPR Weekend Edition. Scott Simon introduces the radio show’s story by describing it this way: “Dante Alighieri’s great work tells the tale of the author’s trail through hell – each and every circle of it – purgatory and heaven. It has become perhaps the world’s most cited allegorical epic about life, death, goodness, evil, damnation, and reward.”</p>
<p>Interestingly, a good description of what <a href="http://tccl.bibliocommons.com/search?t=smart&amp;search_category=keyword&amp;q=mad+men&amp;commit=Search&amp;searchOpt=catalogue" title=" Mad Men"><em>Mad Men </em></a>is about as well.</p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/mad-men" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mad Men</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/breaking-bad" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Breaking Bad</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/tags/americans" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The americans</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/tags/divine-comedy" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">The Divine Comedy</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-blog-category field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/blog/reading-addict" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Reading Addict</a></div></div></div>Mon, 06 May 2013 20:46:23 +0000Cindy1781 at http://tulsalibrary.orghttp://tulsalibrary.org/blog/read-mad-man-laura-raphael#comments